[.ca] Across the Sea of Suns: Book 2 of the Galactic Center Series (ISBN 0446611565)

greatly enjoyed:
I have had this book in my possesion since I was 13. An uncle of mine, a huge scifi fan, I got all of his books and this was one of them, but it was missing the last 75 pages or so, so I never read it until I found a copy of it in a used book store, and was asked by the clerk how I had enjoyed the first book, I had no idea it was a sequel, and so I ordered In the Ocean of Night from here. I enjoyed the 1st book, but greatly enjoyed the Across the Sea of suns more and, I am greatly looking forward to the next segment of Nigel's adventures.

In the near future . . . . .:
Although Across The Sea Of Suns was first published twenty years ago, it is still good. Twenty years of evolving science, medicine and technology have not turned this book into an annoying or worse yet, humorous, science fiction. This is book two of the six book Galactic Center Series. I have not read the other five books in the series, but I have added them to my list of books I want read. In 2064 the starship Lancer is launched to investigate near earth stars. A dozen years or so later, the Lancer approaches its first target. The life aboard the starship is described in enough detail to be interesting but is not plot-numbingly exhaustive. The relationships of the characters develop and change as the years pass. The crew faces challenges with both success and failure. While the Lancer travels through space, Earth is having its own challenges. Author Benford alternates between following Lancer and Earth. I thoroughly enjoyed the Lancer plot, but I found myself looking ahead to discover how many pages I would read of the Lancer plot before returning to Earth. A one page star chart at the beginning of the book is helpful in following the Lancer's travels. A timeline at the end of the book is an interesting summary. Warner Books published a paperback edition in 2004, so it will not be necessary to purchase a used copy of this book. I have not read the first book of the series, In The Ocean Of The Night, (yet), but if available to you, I would read that book before reading this one.

Good characters, great plot:
This story has been done a thousand times. Still Benford has done a slamup job on making the old into something new. There is the usual mix of humans and their meeting other sentient beings. In this case the surprise comes as the main guy figures out just who the aliens are and why they are the way they are. Great read.

And I thought 'In the Ocean of Night' was good.:
It was. But this is probably one of the top three hard sf books I have ever read. Following and building on the characters in the first book, 'Across the Sea of Suns' carries off a near perfect sequel and handily sets up the rest of the series. An amusing note... I acquired the book when it was first published and didn't notice the last chapter was missing. It wasn't until years later when a friend had bought the paperback and we were talking about it that I discovered the problem. What an ending... even if I had to wait several years to actually read it.

A masterful epic:
Benford balances the story of struggle against a peculiar invasion on Earth with that of a captivating voyage of discovery in space. While the Earth based story is engaging, the latter plot with fascinating and intricately creative descriptions of far-off worlds makes this book truly excellent.